Article excerpt

Not a horror film, not a cold wave, not even a new assault by the
Japanese, but the latest version of the Bryan bill. Sponsored by
Sen. Richard Bryan (D) of Nevada, the measure would boost the fuel
economy of the average American car to 40 miles per gallon (m.p.g.)
within a decade. The bill nearly cleared the Senate last year. Now,
sponsors say, the war in the Middle East is enough to garner the
crucial swing votes needed to push it through.

"We're back, and this time we intend to win," Senator Bryan said
recently. "We're going to fast-track it."

Formally known as the "Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Act of
1991," the measure would require each carmaker to increase the fuel
economy of its average passenger car 20 percent by 1996 and 40
percent by 2001. The effect would be a national average of 34 m.p.g.
by 1996 and 40 m.p.g. by 2001. Currently, Corporate Average Fuel
Economy (CAFE) is set at 27.5 m.p.g.

The measure would also require manufacturers to improve the fuel
economy of their minivans, pickups, and other light trucks.

Not surprisingly, the Bryan bill drew immediate fire from
Detroit. Tom Hanna, president of the Motor Vehicle Manufacturers
Association (MVMA) - the lobbying arm of the Big Three - charged the
proposal is "unachievable with any known technology."

Bryan's backers counter that they've heard the criticism before.
Way back in the 1970s, when cars were getting barely 10 miles a
gallon, the industry said it couldn't meet the original CAFE goals.
Today, however, the typical passenger car gets at least 27.5 m.p.g.,
the current CAFE standard.

Forty miles per gallon is doable, says David Cole, director of
the University of Michigan's Office for the Study of Automotive
Transportation. But not easily, and certainly not cheaply. "The
easier-to-play cards are already out of the deck," Mr. Cole says.

Just by improving tires and making cars more aerodynamic, the Big
Three boosted fuel economy three or four m.p.g. But future increases
will take billions of dollars of investment in new engines,
transmissions, and lightweight materials like plastics and
composites, Cole cautions.

And it is almost certain that to meet the 40 mile-a-gallon
standard, tomorrow's cars will have to be significantly downsized. …